The German civil society NGOs Jugend Rettet and Sea-Eye have called Mayday on Sunday. Before reading further, here are some facts from 16/04 evening: The Iuventa, German NGO’s Jugend Rettet ship, has 400 rescued migrants onboard. ¼ might lose their life once weather conditions worsen The ship of the German NGO Sea-Eye has 120 persons…

The roaring engine of the Sea-Watch’s speedboat was driving against the strong waves on a dark night of late October when Stefen took the small hand of a girl to help her board a supply ship that would take her to Italy. The German law student Stefen joined the Sea-Watch crew in his term break…

“Most passengers on the boat actually said their last prayers because they thought we couldn’t make it…” Recently, I have been in touch with Aisha, one of the persons who were rescued during my mission in October 2016. Such testimonies are very powerful and priceless, as we rarely have the opportunity to follow-up on the…

Last month, the German Ministry of Interior proposed that migrants that have been intercepted on the Mediterranean Sea while trying to make their way to Europe should in future be sent to Tunisia for processing. Practically, the idea behind the suggestion is that camps would be built to contain the migrants that have attempted to…

On the second day of SOLIMED conference, along with Sea-Watch, I have taken part in a workshop focussed on search and rescue in the Mediterranean and its bottlenecks. Many other NGOs were around the table, like SOS Mediterranée, Médecins sans Frontières, Hellenic Rescue Team, Proactiva Open Arms, and many others. One of the subjects was…

This weekend I am attending the SOLIMED conference in Valencia where around 500 people will meet to discuss the European “refugee crisis”, but also search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean. Together, we will try to discuss the general situation in order to find ideas to improve the handling of refugees upon arrival to Europe,…

While the Sea-Watch 2 is back at the harbour in Malta for the winter, I am now on land and have been granted a resting period. Indeed, the accumulated events during the previous month at sea were physically and emotionally exhausting, but one realizes the level of tiredness only when returned to reality. Reality is…

See my impressions on the previous rescue operations and the recent incident with the Libyan Coastguards causing around 30 avoidable deaths. Emotions are difficult to keep in, but we need to keep going.   Melanie Glodkiewicz, Intern at Human Rights at Sea, On secondment to Sea-Watch.

The second mission I am taking part in with a new amazing crew has started on the 16th October when we have left Malta’s harbour once again with the Sea-Watch 2, a beautiful ship that I am getting to know better each day, and where I will always feel like home. During the past weeks,…

First video report of my second mission with Sea-Watch. A lot of strength is needed to go through the events to assure effective and secure rescues of those arriving in overcrowded boats from the Libyan shore. See more about my thoughts and feelings after a day of rescue here:   Melanie Glodkiewicz, Intern at Human…

The situation in the Mediterranean has yet again seen itself covered by a shadow of shame with an increase of distress calls that has yet never been observed during previous SAR missions. Together with other NGOs, we have managed to save around 6000 lives at sea during one day. Approximately 1400 migrants, on around ten…

After several days of rescue, I have recorded a video report with my thoughts and feelings about the recent events. Feel free to watch the full report here : https://humanrightsatsea-news.org/2016/10/13/first-video-blog-from-hras-intern-at-sea-offshore-libya/   Melanie Glodkiewicz Intern at Human Rights at Sea, on secondment to Sea-Watch